2008-01-22

Update, 7:34pm: Ledger died of a sleeping pill overdose, allegedly in Mary Kate Olsen's apartment (cocaine?). Check out the wikipedia page of The Dark Knight, which just finished shooting:

Heath Ledger plays the Joker, whom the actor described as a "psychopathic, mass murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy". Nolan had wanted to work with Ledger on a number of projects in the past, but had been unable to do so. When Ledger saw Batman Begins, he realized a way to make the character work in that film's tone, and Nolan agreed upon his anarchic interpretation. To prepare for the role he lived alone in a hotel room for a month, formulating the character's posture, voice and psychology. While he initially found it difficult, Ledger was eventually able to generate a voice which did not sound like Jack Nicholson's take on the character in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film. He started a diary, in which he wrote the Joker's thoughts and feelings to guide himself during his performance. He was also given Batman: The Killing Joke and Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth to read, which he "really tried to read [...] and put it down". Ledger also cited inspiration in A Clockwork Orange and Sid Vicious. Ultimately, "there’s nothing that [is] consistent", as his main objective was to frighten the audience. The challenge of the role put a strain on Ledger's sleep patterns, finding himself unable to rest for more than a few hours each night.